Powerful Impact Of Daylighting On Your Business

Natural Daylighting is a great way to harnesses natural sunlight to illuminate the interiors of a building. Not only does it reduce the cost for the company but it also improves the productivity and efficiency of the workers. This indirectly affects the top line and the bottom line of the company.

One of the biggest contributors to commercial energy usage is Lighting.

In commercial buildings, the annual energy consumption per square meter of the floor area is in excess of 200kWh with Air Conditioning and lighting serving as the two most energy consuming end-use applications within a building.

It is estimated that new buildings can reduce between 20-50% consumption by incorporating appropriate design interventions.

But care should be taken so that the daylighting design is proper to ensure optimum lighting for the occupants. Unfiltered light can raise the heat inside the building and also increase glare within. This can increase the energy bills with increased usage of HVAC systems. These issues can be controlled by the use of appropriate daylighting systems like the solar tubes.

How Daylighting affects Businesses

Energy Efficiency and Savings

As mentioned earlier artificial lighting accounts for major overhead costs(almost 20%) in the commercial sector. These costs can be completely cut down by using natural light to illuminate the interiors of the building. Usage of appropriate daylighting systems also reduces Electricity and HVAC costs significantly since hardly any heat is produced.

ROI

Note that the ROI of a daylighting project varies from one location to another since there are a number of factors involved like the building location, light availability, and so on…

The ROI can be calculated as Cost of Daylighting systems subtracted by the savings generated by using daylighting systems.(This is calculated by measuring the lighting costs, electricity costs, HVAC costs..) And another important thing to consider which may not be measured directly is the improved productivity which significantly affects the bottomline of a business.

Using these kind of methods helps build a clean energy future. Not only does the value of the building increase, but the branding of the company takes a significant boost with these initiatives by the company.

Improved Productivity of the Occupants

Although at first glance the importance of lighting is seen to be in improving the visual effects, there is more to light than what meets the eye. Natural Light helps in maintaining the circadian rhythms of the body. It’s like an internal clock that is in sync with the change of light which affects the physical, mental and emotional aspects of human beings. It produces melatonin in the brain which help in maintaining the sleep states in human being.

It also stimulates serotonin which provides more energy and provides a greater sense well being. Natural light is found to lessen the effects of Seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression.

These factors can have a profound effect on the health of the occupants. Healthy employees lead to improved productivity and reduced absenteeism in the offices.

Increased Sales and Customer Loyalty

There have been multiple studies showing that customers are more likely to make a purchase a product displayed under natural light than in artificial light. Also natural light creates positive feelings in the purchasers which increases the chance of purchase. This results in increased Sales. There is also the growing awareness of the customer following these measures.

Best Daylighting Solutions for Businesses

The Best Daylighting solution for a business is one that is uniquely tailored to the requirements of the client.

There are a number of factors to consider while designing a Daylighting system. These include:

Siting and massing of Buildings(daylighting orientation) – We analyze the way the building is oriented for receiving optimum sunlight.

Daylight Design Goals- These include goals for ensuring quality light to suit the functional and spatial requirements, minimizing glare and so on.

Integration with Electric controls – An important factor for improved daylighting performance is how well the daylighting design is integrated with the electric controls to ensure quality light is available to the occupants.

Lavancha has the experience in installing various types of daylighting systems for both residential and commercial purposes. Daylighting systems are designed and deployed based on the daylighting design goals that are mutually agreed with the client.